House lawmakers endorsed an Internet governance bill (HR-1580) Tuesday,...
House lawmakers endorsed an Internet governance bill (HR-1580) Tuesday, just before the full House met to vote on the bill’s passage. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., said the bill is “designed to combat recent efforts by some in…
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the international community to regulate the Internet, which could jeopardize not only its vibrancy, but also the benefits it brings to the world,” during a floor speech. Last month the House Commerce Committee approved HR-1580, aimed at codifying the U.S. policy “to preserve and advance the successful multistakeholder model that governs the Internet.” The bill mirrors House and Senate resolutions passed last year opposing the revised International Telecommunication Regulations adopted at the World Conference on International Telecommunications. Walden noted that the bill does not exclude governments from “playing a role in policing unlawful behavior. Illegal activity is no less illegal simply because someone has used digital tools to perpetrate the act,” he said. House Commerce Committee Democrats had objected to a provision in an earlier draft that would have made it U.S. policy to “promote a global Internet free from government control” (http://1.usa.gov/10FeUsK). Walden said Tuesday that Democrats objected to the bill’s previous language because they said it would interfere with the FCC’s network neutrality rules. “Let me be clear. I oppose the FCC’s rules regulating the Internet,” said Walden. “This legislation, however, does not require the FCC to reverse those regulations. While statements of policy can help delineate the contours of statutory authority, they do not create statutorily mandated responsibilities. Nonetheless, in the interest of reaching bipartisan consensus and moving this important legislation forward, I agreed to drop the government control language.” Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., urged her colleagues to vote for the bill and said it’s “fitting” to consider its passage as world leaders meet this week for the World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum. (See separate report in this issue.) HR-1580 is “not about our views on domestic Internet policy,” Eshoo said. “The legality of the FCC’s 2010 open Internet order will be decided by the courts. H.R. 1580 is about ensuring that this week and at future conferences the international community knows that the U.S. Congress stands behind the multi-stakeholder process and the importance of a free and open Internet.” Lawmakers had not yet voted on the bill at our deadline.